Oscillating ball reprojector



Sept. 9, 1952 D. E. HOOKER 7 2,610,058

OSCILLATING BALL REPROJECTOR Filed Sept. 3, 1948 2 SHEETS -SHEET 1 v "mmmn' "HIHH'" mlllll S pt.9, 1952 D. E. HOOKER 2,610,058

OSCILLATING BALL REPROJECTOR Filed Sept. 5, 1948 2 SHEETS SHEEFT 2 Patented Sept. 9, 1952 lOSCILLATING BALL REPROJECTOR Donald E. Hooker, Skokie, Ill., assignor to Raymond T. Moloney, Chicago, Ill.- M l Application September 3, 1948, Serial No.47,7 40

3 Claims. (01. 273-421) This invention pertainsto mechanical ball rolling games and the like and has as its principal object the provision of novel ball reprojecting means with attractive action and skill-testin features.

More particularly stated, the invention provides an oscillating turret with ball reprojecting means therein, as well as certain scoring means, so contrived that a ball lodged in the reprojector may be propelled at the will of the player in a desired direction depending upon the position of angular displacement of the turret at the time the player causes projection of the ball therefrom.

Additional objects and aspects of novelty pertain to details of the construction and operation of the embodiment disclosed hereinafter inview oi. the annexed drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a ball rolling playfield incorporating the novel turret reprojector;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional detail of the turret and reprojecting mechanism taken in the direction of lines 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the device of Fig. 2;

i Fig. 4; is a side elevation looking in the direction of lines 4- i of Fig. 3, the playfield being shown The disc Iii-,alsd called herein a turret is pro- 7 vided with a ball-receiving pocket 12 at the bottom of which is a ball-operated switch element l3.

In a preferred arrangement of the game, the turret is oscillated continually at a moderate speed while the game is in play, and the player, by, actuating the ball shooter or plunger I l, projects a ball out upon the field l l with the object of striking one or more of the various objectives and targets i5, i6, ll, etc. most of which are conventional or well-known varieties of balloperated switch connected in a scoring circuit, it being the players object to run up as high a score as possible, or to achieve some special score or hit some special target or bumper.

Should the ball lodge in the turret opening or pocket l2 and operate the switchelement I 3, a circuit would be conditioned to enable the player to reproject this ball by operating the special switch at the side of the cabinet, which would result in the reprojection of the ball by means to be described.

Before pushing the button 28 to reproject the ball from the turret, the player may follow the oscillatory motion of the turret and ball therein with respect to certain guide means such as markers 2! on the playfield, whereby to aim for a certain target or path for the reprojected ball, there being a nice exercise of skill in judging the proper moment to fire or shoot theball.

' Referring to Fig. 2, the turret structure consists of a baseplate fiXedon a spindle 26 carried in bracket means 21 secured to the inner game cabinet as at 28, it being noted that there are upperand lower bracket means as seen especially in Fig. 2. l

As in Fig. 4., the turret member ID issecured by means of screws 29 to the base plate for movement therewith, said member preferably being made of wood to match the ball field member I I.

An electromagnetic solenoid or coil 30 is carried by means of a bracket 3| (Fig. 2,-also Figs. 3 and 4) secured to the base plate for movement therewith, and this device has a plunger 32 pivotallyconnected as at 33 to a reprojector arm 34 which in turn is pivotally supported on bracket means 3| by pin 35 therein- The reprojector 34 includes an arcuate ball kicker extension 34X, the nose portion of which .projectsup into the ball pocket l2.1.Aspring.3B normalizes the kicker or reprojector arm means 34-34X; however, when the solenoid is'ene'rgized to attract plunger 32, the reprojector means 34 rocks clockwise to kick the ball B out of pocket I2, the spring 36 restoring the arm 34 to normally lowered condition, as shown'in Fig. 2, when the solenoid 39 is deenergized. Oscillation of the turret is effected by means of a motor it (Figs. 3 and 4) having a built-in speed reducer rotating. a crank 4| connectedby meansof link 42 to a crank pinx43 on the turret baseplate. 1 l i L 5:

As in Fig. 2,.an' additional ball-scoring switch means, is provided on the turret and includesa shell seated therein andhaving a ball-actuated button plunger 5! with a lower end 52 bearing against leaf spring switch contact 53, such that when a ball rollsonto the button portion '5 I contact spring 53 ispushed down against itsicompanion contact spring 54 to closeany desired scoring circuit. '2 1-. One suitable circuit for the novel oscillating reprojector is shown in Fig. .5, whereinthe kicker solenoid 30 is connected topower supply or (hat tery with an operating circuit completed via conductor 6i, push-button switch contacts 63, 54 (normally open), conductor 65, ball pocket contacts E55, 67 (normally open), and conductor 68.

Assuming that a ball B is lodged in the pocket i2, its weight closes contacts 66 and E1, and the player may now close contacts 63, 64 by pushing button 20 to energize the solenoid 3B and cause the reprojector or kicker 34X to strike the ball and throw it out onto the playing field H, it being borne in mind that the motor 40 is $1. m in b l ro lin amescontinually running from power connections not shown, so that the player must exercise judgement and skill inaiming the shot.

Frequently, a ball will miss the pocket and roll over the button element 5| to close contacts 53 and 54 on the special scoring switch, thereby closing a circuit from battery 6.0, iconductor 10, closed contacts 53 54,conduct-or Tl, score step-up coil 12 and return conductor 1:3 to cause a score indication on any desired' form of score indicator or control 14, of which sev eral varieties are Well-known in the art.

The novel turret reprojector afiords a good test of skill as well as a fascinating novelty fea- The oscillation of t r m be n orm ma be s ramb e by conventional scrambler devices, butiin' either form, theqplayer has a varietyof positions of the turret from which the ball may be reprojected, and if he deems that his timing is not suitablahe' may refrain from pushing the button :2!) and wait {or the turret to approach the desired position a :number Of times before taking the shot.

Inlaim:

*1. In a -ba'llg-rolling game device having an in- ,clined playing surface, a disc.fittedrfreelyzinto an opening in said surface and meansmounting the 'disc asaforesaid ior'oscillatorymotion, an electric" motor land a crank mechanism between the said. motor, 1 a depressed ball-receiving seat in 'saiddisc and situated eccentrically of the oscillatory axis thereof,..an electromagnetic repr ojector carried on the underside lo-f said disc and haying a kicker :arm "communicating into said seat for actuationiito reprojecta ball therefrom, a ball :switchcommunicating into said seat, a playerecontrolled switch .in said garne device and mounted "adjacent said playing surfaces, and a power circuit including said ball-switch and said player switc'hin series with -a power source and said electromagnetic reprojector for operation such that whena ball is lodged in saidsea-t and closes said ball switch, the closingyof said player switch at'the option of "the pi'ayerwlll reproject said lodged ball onto said play ng surface, said-motor being energized by said motor circuit during playing of. the {game to" make it diff cult to lodge a ball in the seat and to afford a selective directional reprojection of'therlodged ball under control of the said ball and'iplayer-controlled switches.

2:1?01 a ball-rolling game device having a playing field and :means for initially projecting a ball thereon,- improvements comprising: a turret member mounted for oscillation with a ballrolling surface flush with the surface of said playing field; a ball receptacle in said surface and Ofi- Qntel'- relative to the axis of oscillation of :the turret; a :b-all-operated switch communieating into said receptacle and adapted to be closed by a ball therein; a ball-reprojecting device communicating into said receptacle and movable with said turret; electromagnetic means movable with said turret for actuating said re- Qprojecting device; a player-closed switch carried by said game ldevice adjacent said field and connected in series with a power circuit connection, Which'jis completed through said ball-operated switch, for selectively energizing said electromagnetic means at times when the ball-operated switch is closed by a ball in the receptacle,

as aforesaid; and electric motor drive means connected with the turret member for oscillatingthe same at a determined rate continuously a substantially flush movable portion of said field which can :be moved back and forth; motor means having driving connection with said lmo'yzable field portion a for :moving the latter back and "forth; "a depressed ball cup on said movable field pjortion; an electrically ac-tuated ball-re.- projector communicating with said cup and operable to .rep'r-oject a ball therefrom; 'a first control switch means including, an operating part extending into said cupand: adapted to be actua'ted by a ball in the cup; at second and manually actuatedls'witch means connected intarepro'jecting circuitwith. said first switch means, said; second switch means being located on said game device for operating access to the play-er; electrical means for actuating said reprojector and connected 'in said re-projection circuit; said first and second switch means being connected inseries in said reprojection circuit to require jointoperation thereof in-order to energize said electrical means and actuate the ball reprojector, as aforesaid. M

DONALD E. HOOKER.

REFERENCES CITED- "lhefol'lowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

- UNITED STATES PATENTS Williams-ct 'a'l Dec. 31,1940 

